Dancing with the Dead
by wokanshutaiduo
Summary: Yes, it's a shameless self-insert. My tribute to the dearly departed.


The room was dark and quiet, the barest gleams of light shining through the shuttered windows. A young woman lay spread-eagle on the bed, staring at the ceiling with her phone dangling loosely from her hand.

'No,' she whispered, 'This can't be happening.'

What a start to the new year. A cold dark feeling crept over her. They say that death always comes in threes. Who would be the next to be stolen? Steven Spielberg? Tim Curry? Or – god forbid – Stephen King?

'I wish... I wish... Oh I wish I could be with them!'

A flash of lightning lit up the room. The young woman sat up in bed with a start, staring at the apparition at the foot of her bed. 'I must be dreaming!' she said, stunned.

The Goblin King smirked down at her, silver balls dancing between his fingers. His mismatched eyes gleamed with mischief.

'I can give you your dreams' he murmured, 'I can make them all come true. Just take them and they are yours.' He held out one of the silvery balls to her.

Entranced, she leaned forward to look closer. A shadowed figure could be seen inside, slowly growing larger. As the face swam into clarity, she let out an awed gasp, reaching forward to touch the ball. With a dizzying whirl of colour and sound, she found herself transported – from the looks of it, transported INSIDE the ball.

Looking around, the room did not appear to have an edge; instead surrounding her with silvery mist that at times seemed far off and at others seemed close enough to touch. It would have been an intimidating scenario if she had been alone – but luckily, she had company.

Greasy hair, sallow skin, and a hooked nose that appeared to have been broken at least once. The slim figure of Severus Snape stood before her. She could not immediately put an age to him – at times he seemed to be in his late thirties; at others he looked as if he were fresh out of college. Of course, you couldn't expect the dead to age in the usual fashion.

'I've been waiting a long time for you,' Severus whispered seductively.

She stared at him incredulously. "YOU'VE been waiting for ME? What are you talking about? I'm the one that's wanted to meet you forever! How do you even know I exist? What about Lily?'

Severus chuckled, suddenly amused. 'Then you should have wished sooner. As for the how and why, this is, after all, YOUR party.'

'My party?' she echoed. 'I... am I DEAD?'

'Dead? I should hope not. Rather, shall we say... you have been given an opportunity to visit the gateway. Thirteen hours, then you'll find yourself in your bed and this will be as if it were a dream.'

'But... why now? And why me?'

'Because you wished it' he said simply. 'Only through wishes can the Goblin King connect the mortal realms to the magical.'

She stared back at him, nonplussed. It still didn't make sense to her, but if she only had 13 hours, then she had best make the most out of them. Throwing caution to the wind, she jumped forwards to wrap the wizard in a bonecrushing hug. To her surprise, he merely hugged her back.

 _I'm hugging Severus Snape,_ she thought, amazed. _And he's not pushing me away._

The time seemed to pass far too quickly. In what seemed to be the blink of an eye, the silvery mist crept ever closer, and Severus faded away into nothingness. She was left sitting alone on the floor as the world around her dissolved.

The world faded back into view, and she found herself sitting on cold stone floor and looking up at the king on his throne. Only Jareth could look so kingly while lounging so casually, one leg hanging off the side of his throne.

'It is time for you to return to the land of mortals,' he said sadly.

Tears blurred her vision. 'Why?' she said brokenly. 'It's too soon! Too soon to say goodbye!'

'All men must die,' he said gently, 'But your time has not yet come. You must return.'

'You're the Goblin King!' she shrieked. 'You're supposed to be immortal! You're supposed to be able to do whatever you want! "Fear me, love me, do as I ask, and I shall be your slave." I'll do anything, just let me stay!'

Jareth smiled down at her. 'You know full well, staying in the Labyrinth is not winning, but losing. You still have many years ahead of you before it is time for you to return to the land of the dead.'

'Besides which,' a familiar voice added, 'The dead you love never truly leave you.'

She whipped her head around to see the ghostly figure of Severus Snape walking up to join them.

'Go back and live your life,' he said softly, 'We'll be waiting here for you. Always.'

Bowing her head, she sighed in acceptance. 'I don't have a choice, do I?

She could still hear the music of the Labyrinth, and for a moment she thought that she had been allowed to remain. Opening her eyes, she realised that she was back on her bed, and the sound was just the video playing on her phone.

Sighing, she rose from her bed. It had been a pleasant dream, but it was time to face reality. 2016 had got off to an awful start, but it was time to move on, rather than wallow in grief over two individuals that she had never even met.

As she turned to leave, her gaze fell onto an unexpected object sitting on her bedside table. A silver ball, glittering temptingly at her.

Picking it up, she turned it around in her hand. As she looked into it she could see two shadowy figures moving around. However, no matter how long she stared, the figures never came into view.

Smiling to herself, she set the ball down. It wasn't time yet, but she knew that one day they would be waiting for her. For now, she had a life to lead. And death had no power over her.

 **END**

A/N OK I'm sorry. This is a shameless self-insert, the writing sucks, and there is no story to speak of. I also can't write romance to save my life so you can just imagine for yourselves what happened in the thirteen hours. This story wasn't so much for you as it is for me, anyway. So there, my tribute to David Bowie and Alan Rickman, admittedly casting them into the roles of my favourite characters. That said, I love Alan Rickman in ALL his appearances and not just that of Severus Snape. He will be missed.


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